Tudor historian Alison Weir, who also gave us Henry VIII, The Life of Elizabeth I, and The Six Wives of Henry VIII, here focuses on the most storied of the six, Anne Boleyn, examining in unprecedented depth the gripping story of her final days. Anne's ascent from private gentlewoman to queen was astonishing, and Henry broke the Church of England from the Catholic Church to achieve it. But equally compelling was her shockingly swift downfall, as she was charged with adultery, incest, and treason, and beheaded in the Tower of London in May 1536. Weir examines numerous sources and finds that a rival in power, Henry's chief minister Thomas Cromwell, had both the motive and the resources to fabricate the case against the queen.

"Acclaimed novelist and historian Weir continues to successfully mine the Tudor era, once again excavating literary gold. This time around, Anne Boleyn falls under her historical microscope. Though Boleyn's life has already been dissected by a bevy of distinguished scholars, novelists, and filmmakers, Weir nevertheless manages to introduce a fresh slant on the ill-fated second wife of Henry VIII. Focusing almost exclusively on Anne's final months, she paints a portrait of an impassioned religious reformer who aroused the suspicions and the animus of a number of court insiders, including the influential Thomas Cromwell. Although it cannot be disputed King Henry desperately desired a male heir, it appears there were more politically complex motives behind the plot to derail the unpopular queen. Caught in an inescapable web of royal intrigue and maneuvering, Anne steadfastly maintained her innocence against a host of trumped-up charges. Weir's many fans and anyone with an interest in this time period will snap up this well-researched and compulsively readable biography."—Booklist